Flush-type box car door



Oct. 23, 1962 K. J. ToBlN FLUSH-TYPE BOX CAR DOOR Original Filed May 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENToR. /m/fn/ d //r M7 BY oct 23, 1962 K, J. ToBlN 3,059,290

FLUSH-TYPE BOX CAR DOOR ,Y

Original Filed May 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 w E M 76 l l l l )K i 1 ,l l

/ A ww JNVENToR. ffm/W d 755m/ BY j m 9 .7 M

.u no 4h 3 I m w i Oct. 23, 1962 K. J. TOBIN FLUSH-TYPE BOX CAR DOOR Original Filed May 21, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 'VIII/A l JNVENToR. /f/v/vfrf/ L/ am oct. 23, 1962 K. J. 'roBlN FLUSH-TYPE Box CAR DooR 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed May 21, 1956 Oct. 23, 1962 K. J. 'roBlN FLUSH-TYPE BOX CAR DOOR Original Filed May 2l, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. BY f/f//f/fn/ L/ 755/4/ @umg fr United States Patent@ 3,059,290 FLUSH-TYPE BOX CAR DOOR Kenneth J. Tobin, Sarasota, Fla., assignor, hy mesne assignments, to American Seal-Kap Corporation of Delaware, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Continuation of application Ser. No. 586,221, May 21,

1956. This application Feb. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 95,768

7 Claims. (Cl. 20-23) The present invention relates to improvements in a door construction and in a door construction assembly for a door and `for supporting, opening and closing, and locking the door in the doorway opening of a freight car. This application is a continuation of an earlier application Serial No. 586,221 filed May 21, 1956, now abandoned.

Doors of the type heretofore used have generally been of the type of very heavy construction suspended or supported on a track beside the doorway and slidably movable in a single longitudinal direction between a closed position over a doorway andan open position beside the doorway. With the use of present improved railway cars and equipment, many features of these previously used doors have become undesirable. diesel driven freight trains, freight cars are now longer, wider and lighter and in most cases of welded construction. Payloads are greater and doors are wider to allow the use of mechanical equipment in loading and unloading. In addition to the necessity for wider doors, the desirablity of wider cars has become prominent but the dimensions are limited by route restrictions, such as tunnel Widths and clearance widths and other narrow passageways. With the door mounted outside of the freight car side it adds additional width which cannot be utilized by the car interior.

Further, in the use of high speed railway equipment it is necessary to provide doors and door supporting hardware which can withstand the severe shocks and strains caused by the accelerations and. decelerations of the freight cars from the ordinary vibrations during hauls, during stopping and starting and during handling and switching. During this usage, the strain on the supports and on the locking arrangement is severe.

It is highly desirable in transporting loads of many types that the freight cars be sealed against dirt, dust and moisture. Sealed car doors of an inexpensive nature were very diflicult to achieve in the constructions heretofore used. Further, with the increase in the size of the openings in the car side, the structure of the door frarne Was Aweakened `and the openings were lfrequently stressed to be moved out-of-square to thereby destroy the effectiveness of the seals that were attempted.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide an improved car door construction which avoids and solves the important problems referred to above and which have arisen through the adoption and requirements of other modern railway equipment.

A general object of the invention is to provide a freight cardoor assembly which is improved in structure and in operation and which reduces the cost of manufacture, is more easy to operate, and forms an improved closure for the side opening of a freight car.

With high speed roller bearing 3,059,290 i Patented Orcl:. `23, 1962 ice track required and which will reduce the number of fixtures which must be provided for operating the door.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a support for carrying the door back and forth between closed and open position which considerably reduces the frictional resistance and prevents the door from binding.

An important object of the invention is to provide a door for a freight car which will close flush with the side of the car and will therefore not add to the width of the car, thereby making possible a freight car with larger interior dimensions with existing road limitations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a door which will not inadvertently be shunted open when in closed position even though being unlatched, thereby reducing the opportunity of damage to the door and to its fixtures.

Another object is to provide an improved ball bearing support for a freight car door which will improve its operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a ball support for freight car doors and tofprovide ball retainers which will Hex with car body distortion and which will not bind.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel door construction which enables the use of -a door body of a basic size which can be readily fitted to door frames of different heights and widths with a minimum of necessary adaptation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved freight car. door assembly wherein the door is cushioned in its closed position to resist the shocks of shunting, switching and bumping, and wherein the door frame may warp slightly against the cushioned door without binding the door.

An object of the invention is to provide a freight car door assembly wherein `shocks caused by shu-nting, switching, bumping and the like are not absorbed by the door latch to reduce stresses and damage to the latch.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art and to those who receive a full disclosure of the invention from the following specification and claims taken in connection with the appended drawings in which like numbers indicate like parts and in which:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of the freight car door assembly of the present invention illustrating the door in a closed position with a fragmentary showing of the car;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken along line II-II of FIG. 1V and showing the construction -of the door;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary view taken in section along line III-III of FIG. 1 to illustrate the constructional details at the top of the door with the door in closed position; Y

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged detailed sectional fragmentary view taken along line IV--IV of tFIG. l, and being similar to FIG. 3 except that it illustrates the internal construction at the base of the door with the door also in closed position;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged detailed sectional fragmentary view taken along line V--V of FIG. l to illustrate the details of the front and rear edges of the door and of the door frame;

FIGURE `6 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken through the freight car floor adjacent the rear edge of the door along line VIVI of FIG. .1, to illustrate the relative position of the elements when the door is moved laterally `out of the opening and be- Asimilar to FIG. 6. but taken adjacent the rear edge of the J door along line VII-VII of FIG. 1, when the door is in the fully open position;

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view of the door in position on the fragmentary showing of the side of the freight car and illustrating an alternative embodiment of the mechanism for clamping the door in closed position;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 8; i

FIGURE 11 is a detailed plan View showing the ball bearing assembly flexible retainer arrangement for supporting the freight car door;

FIGURE l2 is a front elevational view of the ball bearing assembly of FIG. 11;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of one of the bearings of FIG. l1 illustrating its relationship to the flexible retainer;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view taken from the side of one of the bearings of FIGS. 11 and 12 and illustrating its relationship to the flexible retainer;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged detailed fragmentary View illustrrating the manually operated lever mechanisms for closing and opening the door; and

FIGURE 16 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed elevational view, partly in section, with the door and certain hardware omitted for clarity, illustrating the mechanism of FIG. 15.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawings and described herein the freight car door assembly is shown used for closing the side opening of a freight c'ar, and it is to be understood that many of the detailed features may be used in other environments wherein their salient features may be used to advantage. The door assembly, however, enjoys special utility in the particular surroundings illustrated, which is the preferred embodiment of the invention.

The freight ca r body may be of any of the varied types known to the art which are in common usage on railway rolling stock. In -the structure illustrated, and as particularly shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the vertical side Wall 20 of the freight car is provided with a rectangular doorway opening surrounded by a door frame. At the fsides of the door frame are door posts 22 and 24, which are channel-shaped in cross section, having flat interior facing surfaces 26 and 28 which form the side of the rectangular doorway. One of the flanges 30 and 3'2 of 'each of the channels is deeper than the other short flanges 34 'and A3:6 and attaches to wooden post -llers 38 and 4f). Steel sheathing 44 covers the exterior of the car and is secured to the large flange 30 of the door post by a rivet 42 or by welding. At the right side of the door frame opening, as is illustrated in FIG. 5, the steel sheathing 44 is also suitably secured to the door post 24, being attached to the larger flange 32.

Between the door post and the post fillers are vertical plates 46 and 48 which bear against the larger flanges 30 and 32 of the door post with one edge, and which lie against 'the smaller flanges 34 and 36. The vertical plates `carry band strap anchors 50 and 52 which are part of the usual car construction and form no part of the present invention, being used to anchor a payload within the freight car. A-lso within the freight car, abutting the post fillers 38 and 40` and attached thereto, is the wooden lining 54 for the car.

The top of the rectangular door opening, surrounded by the door frame, is defined by a side plate 56, as is shown in detail in FIG. 3. The side plate 56 is Z-shaped in form, and is suitably secured to a side reinforcing plate 58 which forms part yof the railroad car framework.

The base of the rectangular door opening is formed by the door threshold plate formed of two integral flat portions with portion 60 within the ydoorway and the portion 64 just outside the doorway. The door threshold plate 60-64 extends forwardly in a continuation 64 to a rounded nose portion where it joins a vertical portion 66 and this entity forms the track assembly 62 for guiding and supporting the door. The angle iron which forms the outer part of the track assembly is merely a lateral and a vertical extension of the threshold plate and modifications of existing cars can be made which have a threshold plate by welding or suitably attaching thereto an angle comprised of the horizontal portion 64 and the vertical portion 66. The track assembly 62 may be, for purposes of description, divided into two functional portions with the horizontal portion being a flat bearing support 60-64 and the vertical portion being a door guide plate 66. The track assembly, as seen in FIG. l, extends beyond the door opening to form a support for the door, and as it forms part of the threshold in front of the door, it serves a double function. The portion of the threshold plate y60 within the door, is not extended beyond the doorway as may be seen in FIG. 7. Thus, the threshold plate `60 is useful in supporting the door and the only additional track which needs to be provided is the angle 64-66 thus reducing the usual track requirements. The entire track may be formed of a monolithic section of metal with the plate portion 6i) discontinued at the side of the doorway.

The threshold plate 60 is secured to the flooring 68 of the car by a series `of rivets, such as shown at 70, which can be removed for removing the plate 60 and replacing the flooring `68 in front of the door. The rivets 70 extend through a side angle piece 71, which supports the lower face `of the floor and which rests on the underframe member 72, which is part of the car frame.

Across the front of the door opening beneath the threshold plate `64 an angle iron 74 is suitably secured, such as by welding to the side angle 71, and one leg of the angle iron extends beneath the threshold plate 62 to aid in supporting the bearing support surface 64 of the threshold plate. A series of separate bars 76 are welded at intervals to the track 62 and extend beneath the leg of the angle iron 74 to aid in supporting and securing the track. At the right side of the car door opening, as is illustrated in FIG. l, various brackets, as shown at 80 in FIG. 7, are secured beneath the track and are welded to the side angle 71. These brackets also act as guide members for the door in a manner which will be later described. The general position of these brackets along the Side of the car is shown in FIG. l.

Thus, the rectangular door yframe is formed at its sides by the door posts 22 and 24, as illustrated in FIG. 5, and at the top of the door frame is the side plate 56, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The base of the door frame is formed by the threshold plate 60, as shown in FIG. 4, which integrally joins the threshold plate 64 in the preferred construction.

The door construction is so designed as to recess within the opening defined by the door frame in a manner which will be described. The door 82, as shown in detail in FIG. 2, is formed of lightweight sheet metal with the body portion formed of a plurality of joined horizontally extending structural members.

The body of the door is formed of a plurality of horizontally extending U-shaped members 88. Each U- shaped member has a flat base 83, FIG. 2, with legs 84 and 85. Attached to the top leg 84 and extending vertically is an extension 86 and attached to the lower leg 85 is a shorter vertical extension 87. Each lower vertical extension 87 is secured to the upper vertical extension 86 of the U-shaped member below it, such as by welding or riveting. Each upper vertical extension 86 projects beyond another open U-shaped member and is secured to the next extension 86 at the place where it joins the leg 84 and a relatively smooth inner door surface is thus formed. This construction forms the body of the door.

The body of the door structure is of a size that is smaller than the openings to which the door will be adapted. A number of freight cars will have rectangular openings of different sizes and one standard door body will iit all these openings by merely attaching the adjustable front and rear vertical reinforcement edges in the `proper position and attaching the top edge in the proper position. L The` -top edge is formed of a structural section similar to 88 but altered in shape. The outer top edge 89 has Ia base 83, lower leg S and lower extension 87, but the top terminates in a vertical flange 91 which is secured to another vertical flange 93 which is part of the inner top edge structural section 95. Flanges 91 and 93 are joined to form the unit `flange 98. The inner top structural member 95 turns inwardly at its upper edge to form an upper shoulder 90 at the top of the door.

It will be seen that the height of the door can be easily adjusted by choosing the height at which structural members 89 and 95 are attached to the extension 86, i.e., to the door body.

To reinforce the door against vertical bending, wraparound metal edges 94 and 96 are placed over the ends of the door at the forward a-nd rea-r edges, as is shown in FIG. 5. The body of the door is smaller than the door frame opening and -the end edges 94 and 96 are attached relative to the body to ll the particular door frame with only suicient room for the gaskets 106, see FIG. 5.

Thebase of the door is provided with a shaped horizontal door guide member 104, FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 7.

The inner edge 97 is turned up from the horizontal por- Vtion 92 and attaches to the lower vertical extension 87 of the bottom structural member 88. The horizontal portiony 92 rests on the spherical bearing supports 120 and a flat plate 99 is attached to ythe inner surface of the door to extend below surface 92 and form a channel for the bearings. The other side of the channel is formed Vby 'avertical plate 118 attached as by welding to the sur- Vdoor guide 104 at the base of the door controls the position of the base of the door.

The door in its closed position is sealed around all four of the edges so as to be weatherproof and prevent the 'entrance of dust, dirt and moisture and the like which `are encountered along the road bed of the railway as Vthe train is traveling at high speeds. To accomplish this fweatherproof sealing, the door carries O-'shaped resilient seals which may be of rubber, neoprene or some material which is resilient, and which is resistant to the elements and to the scufng and rubbing which will occur during the motion of the train and opening and closing the door. -At the top of the door, FIG. 3, the seal 106 is carried on a bracket 108 suitably secured to the flange 98, such .as by a rivet 110i. In this position, the seal rests on the shoulder 90 at the top of the body of the door 82,`and

-when the door is in closed position, it is pressed against thelower edge of the side plate 56 to seal the interior of the car.

'The seals for the sides of the door are shown in FIG. 5

in detail, and the O-shaped sealing material `106 is carried on brackets such as 1112 and which is suitably secured to the ange.100 at the front edge of -the car door. AThe sealing material is mounted on brackets such as 114, -at

the rear edge of the car door. As thus positioned, they sealing material 106 will be located against the inner sur- `faces 26 and 28 of the door frame when the door is in closed position, and will be squeezed tightly between these surfaces and the ends 94 and 96 of the door.

tions of the car door frame,

At the base of the door the sealing material 106 is carried on a series of brackets 116, which are suitably secured along a vertically disposed plate 118, which is welded in a vertical position to the lower surface 92 of the specially shaped door guide member 104 at the base of the door. Thus, the sealing material 106, shown in FIG. 4, slides along the bearing support threshold surface A64 and forms a seal between the surface 64 and the plate 118 when the door is in closed position. The sealing material 106 is supported by brackets of any suitable design and, as shown, the brackets may project into the interior of the O-shaped sealing material to connect to a continuous coaxial Wire or rod extending therethrough.

Thus, the door is sealed and made weatherproof on all `four sides when in closed position. It will be noted that the sealing member 106 is carried to be free of its engaging Vsealing surfaces on the frame when the door is in open position, as illustrated, for example, at the bottom of the door in FIGS. 6 and 7. Since the dooi moves laterally, out of the door frame, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, before the door is moved to open position, the sealing material 106 Will move away from its engaging surfaces.

The door is freely supported for movement both in a longitudinal and a lateral direction. To open the door, it must first move in the lateral direction, which is out of the doorway, to free the body portion of the door from the rectangular frame. The door then moves longitudinally in a direction parallel to the door frame -to be slid along the side of the freight car to the open position. In the closed position, as will be noted in FIG. 5, the door is moved inwardly into the doorway to be substantially ush with the side 20 of the car. This permits building a car having an internal width approaching the allowable roadbed width limit since no allowance need be made for doors which project beyond the outside of the car in closed position.

For providing the free movement of the door in a lateral and in a longitudinal direction, the door is supported solely by frictionless door supports, shown in the form of ball bearings 120, as is shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7 and l0 and as shown in detail in FIGS. l=1 through 14. The ball bearings roll on the at upper bearing support surface 64-62 which is part of the threshold plate. The door rests on the balls on its lower ilat surface 92. The balls are generally guided in the channel in the face of the door formed by plates 113 and 122, as shown in FIG. 4, and formed by ends 94 and 96.

The ball bearings are retained in their separated longitudinal position relative to the door by a ilexible bearing ,retainer member 124, which is formed out of a continuous ybearings can be replaced or removed without diiiiculty.

It is important that the bearings are kept separated so as notV to work their way to all be a-t one end of the door. It is important however, in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, that the bearings be resiliently restrained so they will not bind and can shift with deforma- The door arrangement permits lateral and longitudinal movement of the door and itis important that the door not bind. With switching and shunting of the car, stresses will frequently deform the door opening and the flexible bearing retainer will permit free shifting of the bearings to a nonbinding position.

Thus, the door, as frictionlessly supported, can be moved either laterally or longitudinally on the bearings without diiculty. The bearings are positioned at the bottom of the doorand will not collect foreign materials to restrain their operation. At the top of the door, as shown in FIG. 3, the door is held in position and prevented from tipping outwardly by a retaining Z-bar 132, which is welded to the outer portion of the side plate 56. The lower flange 134 of the Z-bar 132 restrains the top ilanged edge 98 of the door preventing the door from tipping outwardly and also provides a weather protector to prevent moisture, ice and snow from working into the seal between the door and the side plate 56.

The base of the door, although having free lateral motion, is limited in movement to prevent the door from moving outwardly any fur-ther than the flat threshold surface 64 extends. To this end, the door guide member 104 extends downwardly and returns in an upwardly projecting door guide base 136. The upwardly projecting portion 136 of the door guide base extends upwardly to a vertical elevation higher than the door guide plate 66 of the track 62, and this limits the outward movement of the base of the door. The door is shown in its inwardl.l sealed position in FIG. 4, and is shown in the position it receives after it has been moved laterally outwardly in FIGS. 6 and 7, wherein the door guide base 136 must engage the door guide plate 66 to limit the outward movement of the door and to guide it as it slides longitudinally to the open position away from the door frame opening. Thus, the door is moved between two lateral positions with the tirst position being in the sealed position recessed within the door frame opening, as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, and with the second position being laterally outwardly from the door frame opening, as illustrated in FIG. 6. In the lateral open position of FIG. 6, the door can be slid longitudinally to the open position of FIG. 7, since it will clear the side of the freight car. In the fully closed position of FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, it is important to note that the door is resiliently and yieldably cushioned within the door frame. This cushioning is afforded by the gasket material, primarily at the sides of the doors. This permits deforming of the car door frame without inextricably binding the door. This also permits shocks to be transmitted to the door frame, and since 4the door is within the trame, no stresses are borne by the door hardware.

The door is guided to its lateral inward position when being slid to the closed position by upper and lower guide cams 138 and 140, as are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As is illustrated in FIG. 4, the guide cams may be formed of a shaped inclined spring section of metal which is welded at its base to the vertical guide plate 66 of the threshold plate 62. Thus, when the door is pushed toward closed position, the door guide base 136 at vthe front edge of the door, as shown in FIG. 4, engages the guide cam 140 to force the front edge of the door into the door frame opening. At the same time, as is shown in FIG. 3, the flange 98 engages the top guide cam 138 which cams the top front edge of the door inwardly into the door frame.

To aid in closing the door a front stop angle 142, FIG. 5, projects outwardly at an angle from the door post and receives the flange 100 at the leading edge oi' the door. This guides the door edge inwardly and forces the front edge of the door securely within the open door frame and holds the front edge of the door in closed position.

When Ithe door is in this position, the rear edge of the door 96, as shown in FIG. 1, must be pushed laterally inwardly to close the door. A door latching member 146, shown in detail in FIGS. 15 and 16, is provided to latch the door in its closed position. The latching member 146 has a vertical operating arm 148 attached to an integral rod 150, which carries at its end a latch 152, as shown in detail in FIG. 16. The latch engages a slot 154 in the face of the door post 24, and when the operating arm 148 is moved to down position, the latch 152 will hook over the top edge of the slot 154 to securely close the door. The latch supporting rod 150 of the latching member 146 is supported on the bracket member 1'02 having a pair of bosses 158 and 160 at one end and another boss 162 at the other end for rotatably supporting the latch carrying rod 150. The operating arm 148 carries at its lower end an elongated slot 164 through which projects, when the arm is in the lowered position, an eyelet 166 which will receive a seal or a lock to lock the car in closed position.

The latch 152 prevents the arm 148 from swinging to its down position except when in alignment with the slot 154. Thus the door cannot accidentally be left unlatched for the operator will see that the arm projects.

For 4opening the door when the latch arm 148 is lifted, a lever arm aid 168 is provided. This lever arm aid is pivotally supported on the rod 150, which carries the latch 152. The lever arm aid 168 has a nose member 170, as shown in FIG. 16, which engages the side sheathing 44 of the car which is secured to the post 24. When the aid 168 is pivoted upwardly the aid 168 will force the rear edge 144 of the door away from the car to move the door laterally to open position. Then the rear edge of the door can be slid away from the door opening and the door moved longitudinally to the open position. To insure that the rear edge and the -front edge will swing away from the door opening as the door is slid longitudinally to the right, as shown in FIG. l, upper and lower door guide cams 174 and 176 are provided which cam the door laterally away from the opening. The upper cam v174 engages the flange 98 at the top of the door to cam the top of the doorway from the opening, and the lower cam 176 engages the base of the door to force the lower end of the door away from the opening. To insure that the lower edge of the door will remain away yfrom the side of the car 4and not rub against the car when the door is slid open the brackets 78 and 80, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, will hold the door guide base 104 laterally toward the guide plate 66.

The door in all movements is frictionlessly supported on the ball bearings 120. When the door reaches open position, the rear edge 96 strikes upper and lower door lstops 178 and 180 suitably secured to the side 44 of the car. If desired, a door retaining latch 182 may be provided which slides into a slot 184 in the rear edge of the door to lock it in open position. This latch may 'be of a conventional type and is easily released when the door vis to be slid to closed position.

In FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, an alternative mechanism for forcing the rear edge 96 of the car door into closed position within the door frame is shown. The latching or closing mechanism is shown in the -form of an elongated bellcrank arm 186 which is pivotally mounted to the trailing edge of the door in supporting brackets 188, 190 `and 192. The offset arms at the top and bottom ends 194 yand 196, carry reaction members 198 and 200. These reaction members as are shown in the detail views of FIGS. 9 and 10 are positioned as to slide along with the door. The upper reaction member 198, which is pivotally mounted at the upper end 194 of the bellcrank arm, is

.provided with a groove 202, FIG. 9, in slidable relation to the lower edge 134 of the side plate 132. The lower .reaction member 200, which is pivotally mounted on the lower end 196 of the bellcrank arm 186, has a groove 204, FIG. 10, which is in slidable relationship with the guide plate 66. Thus, the reaction members 198 and 200 slide .along on the retaining Z-bar 132 and `the door guide plate 66 with the movement of the door.

When t-he bellcrank member 186 is rotated, the offset ends 194 and 196 will Iforce the trailing edge 96 of the door inwardly to closed and locked position. For purposes of rotating lthe bellcrank member '186 an arm 206 is secured to the straight portion 208 of the bellcrank member and manual pivotal movement of this arm will bring it into latched position within the fingers of a bracket 210, wherein the arm may be suitably secured by any acceptable form of locking means, such as by running a vertical pin 212 through holes in the fingers to lock'the 9, arm 206 in place. When the door'is to be released, the hellcrank member 186 Iwill be rotated by moving the arm 206 manually outwardly, and this will forcibly carry the door to an openlposition away from the door frame and permit it to be slid longitudinally away from the door opening.

In order to prevent the arm 206 from having to project outwardly at `all times when the door is open, the Iarm 206 is broken. A base portion 205 connects to the rod 208 and is bifurcated to receive the Irod 206 between the bifurcated ends. The ends and the rod 206 are drilled and a pin 207 extends through the drilled hole to hold the arm 206 rigid with base 205 in a horizontal movement but to permit breaking in a vertical movement.

Although the operation of the door is believed clear from the foregoing description of the structure and function of the individual elements, a brief summary of operation Will be helpful in understanding the features and advantages of the invention. When ythe door is in open position away from the door frame opening, it can be readily pushed to a closed position rolling on the frictionless =ball bearings, shown at 120, upon which the door rests with the bearings riding on the flat bearing support surface v64. As the door is slid longitudinally to a position wherein it is juxtaposed over the door frame opening, the

`front edge of the door carrying the ilanged edge 100,

FIG. 5, enters the front stop `angle 142 to force the door inwardly. The upper and lower edges of the door also engage the guide cams 138 and 140, carried by the retaining Z-bar 134 and the threshold plate 62, respectively.

The rear edge 144 of the door is then pushed laterally in- Wardly to move the entire :body of the door 82 into the door frame opening with the sealing member 106 extending around the edge `of the door engaging the edge of the door frame to yform a weatherproof seal and a shock cushion. The rear edge of the door is locked by manually rotating the latching arm 146 so that the latch 152, as is shown in FIG. 16, engages the upper edge of the slot 154 to lock the door in closed position.

To open the door, the latching arm 146 is again operated by lifting the arrn 148 to release the latch 152 and the opening lever 168 is rotated to push the rear edge of the door laterally out of the doorway. The door 82 can then be slid to the open position and as it is moved to the right, as shown in FIG. l, the edge of the door engages the guide cams 174 and 176 to guide the door laterally outwardly away from the side of the car 44. The door will slide easily supported on the ball bearings 120 until it strikes the back stops 178 and 130 to be latched in open position by the latching member 132 entering the latch opening 184.

Thus, it will be seen that I have provided an improved door assembly for a railway freight car which meets the objectives and advantages hereinbefore set forth. The freight car is strong and compact in construction, and requires a minimum amount of hardware. It will be noted that the plate 62 forms part of the oor covering threshold in the open doorway and, therefore, the only additional track which is provided is the portion of the track that extends beyond the open doorway. This, of course, eliminates half of the track usually needed. Further, no track is necessary at the top of the door, and only the retaining Z-bar is provided. The door, however, will always be extremely easy to move and cannot be frozen shut because of the yieldable seal surrounding the door. Also the bearings cannot freeze the door since they are free to shift in their resilient retainers. Free and unrestrained movement of the door in a plurality of paths including both the lateral and longitudinal direction also aids greatly in preventing binding of the door. Further, although the door is supported on the frictionless ball bearings, the door cannot slam back and forth during shunting to damage the hardware, since it will be held within the door frame in its elo-sed position, and will be locked by the latching 10 apparatus in its open position.` During transport, al`- though'the door may be latched, stresses due to the weight of the door are on the door frame and not on the latch or hardware.

A minimum amount of fittings and hardwarefixtures are required with the majority of the iixturesbeing formed of simple structural steel elements which are relatively inexpensive and easy to fabricate. The door effectively decreases the operating width of the car and thereby enables the addition of more cubic feet to the interior contents of the car. The door, in its closed position, sets within the door frame to completely seal and weatherproof the doorway and yet adds strength to the car body as a whole, reducing-the chances of permanent deformation of the parts.

I have, in the drawings and specification, presented a detailed disclosure of the preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that I do not intend to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed but intend to cover all modifications, changes and alternative constructions and methods falling within the scope of the principles taught by my invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A door construction for a railway freight car cornprising in combination a substantially rectangular door frame surrounding a loading and unloading doorway opening in the side of a freight car, a rectangular doorl complementary to said opening and movable longitudinally with respect to a car between a closed and an open position and laterally movable between a recessed position in the opening and a projected position out of the opening, a horizontal sill at the lbase of the opening and extending longitudinally therebeyond, a support beneath the door for `supporting Ithe door in a frictionless manner for horizontal movement between open and closed position and for lateral movement, an upper downwardly projecting track extending across the top of the opening and having an outer flange overhanging the upper edge of the door and spaced outwardly therefrom in said recessed position and engageable with the door to limit the lateral movement of the door into projected position and having another spaced ange positioned to engage the door in recessed position, a lower downwardly projecting track secured to the frame and positioned at the base of the door, and a rigidguide and protector extending along the widthof the door and secured to the lower margin o-f the door and having van outer iiange to engage the lower track in said recessed position and an inner flange positioned to engage said lower track and limit the lateral movement of the door in said projected position.

2. In a freight car and door assembly therefor, a car having a door opening therein, a frame denn-ing said opening and including a threshold plate at the bottom thereof, a lateral extension on said plate projecting through said opening to provide a track, a track member longitudinally on the car leading from said extension to one side of said opening, a door movable along said extension and track member longitudinally of the car and movable laterally into said door frame, cam means on said frame at the other side of said opening to urge the door laterally into said opening upon a movement of the door into position over said opening, said frame on said one side of the opening having a latch opening therein, and a unit carried by said door including a rst pivoted lever carrying ya latch thereon on that side of said door which fits into said one side of the opening, said latch being engagea-ble in said latch opening, and a second pivoted lever mounted on the first lever and operable against the side of said door frame to force the door out of the door opening when the latch is released.

3. In a freight car and door assembly therefor, a car having a loading and unloading opening therein defined by a door frame, a door guiding track structure on the outside of the car along the top of said frame and pro- 1 1 jecting along the side of the car beyond one side of the frame, a door supporting track structure on the outside of the car along the bottom of said frame` and projecting beyond said one side of the frame along the side of the car, a door supported for movement in its plane along said supporting track structure into and out of closing relation to the opening defined by the frame and guided along the top of the door by said guiding track structure, means carried by the car on the side of the frame opposite to said one side of the frame for positively laterally moving the door inwardly into substantially flush closed position within said frame as an incident to registering the 4door with said opening, means on the door coactive with said door moving means to effect said lateral movement upon movement of the door 4along said track into said registration with the opening, means on the door and on said frame at said one side of the frame for latchying the door in closed position substantially flush within the frame and for pushing the side of the door adjacent to said one side of the frame out of the frame when the door is to be opened, and upper kand lower door guide cams carried by the outer side of the car at said one side of the frame and engageable by the door to cam the door outwardly relative to the opening upon movement of the door toward open position and beyond said one side of the frame.

4. In combination in a railway car side wall with a door opening, a threshold plate at the bottom of said opening extending outwardly beyond said wall, a track on said wall at the level of said threshold plate extending therefrom lengthwise of the wall, a series of ball bearings disposed at intervals along said threshold plate and track, a door for closing Said opening mounted on said bearings, and a spacer for said bearings comprising an elongated -Wire forming a series of substantially straight sections of suficient length to be dlexible transversely of their length and 'bent intermediate adjacent straight sections and transversely thereof to form pairs of spaced baies, each pair of bales comprising a pocket for one of said balls, and the spacer holding the balls against relative movement lengthwise of the spacer while accommodating their relative movement transversely of the threshold plate and track by the flexing of said straight sections as the door moves relative to said wall.

5. In combination in a railway car side wall with a door opening, a horizontal track on the wall at the bottom of the door opening and extending lengthwise of the wall lbeyond said opening, a door for closing said opening and adapted to move in a horizontal direction into and out of said opening and abreast of and away from said opening,

a series of ball bearings disposed at intervals lengthwise and beneath the door for supporting the door on said track for horizontal movement between open and closed positions, a downwardly projecting retainer bar rigid with the wall extending across the top of the opening and overhanging the upper edge of the door to limit transverse movement thereof, a downwardly projecting guide rigid with the door and projecting outwardly therefrom and downwardly beneath the track and inwardly to engage the track transversely substantially throughout its length and limit lateral movement of the door transversely of the opening when in closed position.

6. In combination in a railway car side wall with a door opening, a door for closing said opening, a track on the wall extending alongside of and beyond said opening, a series of ball hearings disposed at intervals along and movable over said track, means supporting the door on said bearings for movement lengthwise and transversely of the wall, 'a spacer for the ball bearings including spaced apart pairs of bales receiving the ball bearings between the baflies of each pair and holding them `apart a substantial distance from each other, and a exible connection between spaced pairs of bat-lies, whereby the retainer is flexible transversely of its length to accommodate relative movement of ball bearings at opposite ends of the spacer transversely of the length of the spacer.

7. in combination in a railway car side wall with a door opening, a track on the wall extending alongside of and beyond said opening, a series of ball bearings disposed at intervals along and movable over said track and spaced apart lengthwise of the track, a door mounted on said bearings and movable thereon lengthwise and transversely of the wall, and a resilient spacer extending between and engageahle with the bearings and permitting movement thereof laterally `and longitudinally of the car and relative to each other but tending to urge them to a predetermined position relative to each other, said spacer exing with distortion of the track and movement of the door relative to the track to prevent binding of the bearings and of the door, the bottom portion of the door being provided with an inverted trough-like structure substantially wider than the diameter of the bearings and forming a housing receiving the bearings and the exible spacer.

Styri Dec. 27, 1927 Moore et al. Dec. 1, 1936 

